Month-old boy dies in WA hospital after allegedly being bashed

The Minister for Child Protection says she is confident her department did all it could to protect a newborn baby, who was allegedly assaulted by his 15-year-old father.

The month-old baby boy died in Princess Margaret Hospital yesterday.

The infant was on life support and surrounded by family, including his 16-year-old mother, when he died.

Child Protection director general Terry Murphy said "no decision was required" regarding his life support system.

The family had requested that the boy's life support system not be turned off.

It was revealed last week that the child's teenage father had unsupervised access to the infant, despite the fact he was "troubled" and in the care of the department.

As she headed into parliament this morning, Minister Helen Morton defended her department's handling of the case, saying the child's death was unavoidable.

"The advice and the information that I've had a look at, and all of the discussions I've been involved in, indicated to me that the department did everything it could," she said.

Mr Murphy says despite being the father being a troubled teenager, there was nothing to suggest he would harm his son.

"Mother and father had both been visiting, feeding, and caring for the child and there was nothing in that behaviour, assessed by both ourselves and hospital staff, that suggested that the father shouldn't have had contact with the child," he said.

The coroner and the ombudsman will now investigate the cause of death and review the circumstances surrounding the child's injuries.

Police have charged the teenager with aggravated grievous bodily harm, but say that charge could upgraded after a post-mortem examination.